More suspects breaching tag curfews

Ministers were under renewed pressure over prisons policy after figures showed a dramatic increase in the number of cases in which suspects wearing electronic tags breached their curfews.

The number of breaches has almost quadrupled in three years, including almost 2,000 cases in which tracking equipment was sabotaged.

The disclosure came as it was also revealed that more than 5,000 criminals let out early to ease prison overcrowding have previously been assessed as too much of a risk to be freed even wearing tags.

Nearly one in five of those benefiting from the Government's controversial End of Custody Licence (ECL) scheme had been refused tagging in the past, Justice Secretary Jack Straw said.

A major increase in the use of tagging as an alternative to remand while suspects await trial has been accompanied by an even bigger rise in breaches.

Some 24,936 bail curfew orders were issued last year, compared with 8,548 in 2005/6. But, over the same period, the number of breaches reported by electronic monitoring companies to the police have risen from 4,428 to 16,176.

That represents an increase from 52% to 65% of orders that were breached.

Shadow justice secretary Nick Herbert said: "When nearly two thirds of suspects are breaching their curfews, public confidence in bail procedures will be further undermined. There is no doubt that the significant increase in the use of tagging is a direct consequence of the Government's failure to provide adequate prison capacity and their pressing of courts to use alternatives."

The Justice Secretary also disclosed that, of 28,879 criminals freed up to 18 days early since last June, about 5,300 had previously been refused released under Home Detention Curfew (HDC).